


Faithful Servant

by Nary



Category: An Evening's Entertainment - M. R. James
Genre: Documentation, Gen, Historical References, Magic, Murder, Rituals, Suicide, Yuletide Treat, folk horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:07:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28308750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nary/pseuds/Nary
Summary: Excerpts from a collection of documents and artifacts submitted to The Folklore Society by Frances Oakley, 1878.
Comments: 14
Kudos: 16
Collections: Yuletide 2020





	Faithful Servant

**Author's Note:**

  * For [havisham](https://archiveofourown.org/users/havisham/gifts).



**Coroner's inquest into the deaths of Josiah Davis and his servant**

An inquisition taken for our Sovereign Lord the King at the Parish of Godmanston, in the County of Dorset, on the twenty-third day of September in the tenth year of the reign of our Lord King George, by Thomas Barnstable, coroner, on view of the body of Josiah Davis, a tenant on the land of Squire Parrish, ow lying here dead, and under the oath of twelve good and loyal men of this parish, who being now here duly sworn to inquire for our said Lord the king in what manner the said Josiah Davis came to his death. Whereby they do state that on the morning of the twenty-first day of September, one Gabriel Woode, apprentice saddler, did discover the body of Josiah Davis in the living-room of his house, laid upon the table with his eyes covered and hands and feet bound, and with his breast cleft fully in twain by an axe. And that the said Gabriel Woode from that day until this has neither spoken nor slept nor eaten, and it is feared that he may henceforth be touched in the head.

The mark of Agnes Woode, on her son's behalf: X

William Booth, woodsman, maketh his oath that on that same morning, he came upon the body of a young man hanged by his neck from an oak not far from the lane at the crest of Aldershot Hill. And that this body was that of Mr. Davis's companion, who was a stranger to this parish and whose name he does not know, but that he must have done away with himself by hanging. On the ground below his feet lay the bloody axe, but William Booth doth hereby swear that there was no blood upon his hands, nor upon the white robe he wore, nor anywhere else upon his person.

The mark of William Booth: X

Reverend Thos. White, parson of the parish, maketh his oath that Josiah Davis was not born in this parish, but came here some eight or nine years hence, and hath no family here nor any kin that he knows. Nor did he attend the parish church, despite the urging of Rev. White on more than one occasion. And that the young man who dwelt with Mr. Davis came also from away, some three years ago, and that he believes his name to be Robin or Robert, but more than that he knoweth not. He attests that he found in the home of Josiah Davis many and sundry strange potions and ointments, along with various writings and books, in such foreign tongues and unknown symbols as that he fears they do betoken the sin of idolatry and worse besides, and that from fear of their evil he hath cast them into the fire. 

The mark of Reverend White: Thomas White, lit.

Whereby the men of the jury do declare and swear that the young man did slay his master, Josiah Davis, with an axe, and then in a fit of guilty conscience, did do away with himself by hanging by the neck. And to this verdict we do set our hands and seals the day, year and place above written, so help us God.

  
  


**Excerpts from an untitled manuscript from the library of Rev. Thomas White**

_ A scrying charm _

> Take three feathers from a black cockerel and burn them with a paste of antimony and valerian, and apply the soot to the eyes of the one who would see into the deepest past or distant future, but take heed as too frequent use may drain the life essence of the scryer.

_ To conjure a faithful servant _

> Call the names Beelzebub, Belmoth, Orimoc, and say I conjure you by the names of the gods of old and gods new, and bid that you send to me a servant who will fulfill my every desire and command for a span of three years, to bind him by hand and foot to my service and lend his sight to my eyes. Let his heart be bare to me and his soul be bound to mine, for the length of this time, so may it be.

[Marginal notation in Rev. White's hand: An abominable and idolatrous rite] 

_ That a murderer may be known  _

> To learn the identity of one who has killed another, if it be not known, bring the weapon that slew the victim to the feet of the one suspected, and if he be the murderer, the blade will grow red with blood, but if he be not, it will remain clean.

[Marginal notation in Rev. White's hand: Let it be so, if the truth be not revealed.] 

_ Of a hanged man _

> When a man be hanged for any reason, the seed spilled at his death hath many virtues... [remainder of page is torn away]

  
  


**Letter from Samuel Oakley to his betrothed, Sarah Parrish, undated but c. 1790**

On the night of May Day, if you are quite recovered from your fly bite, I beg you meet me at the old man on the hill, and we will rest the night together there, for they say that if a young woman do sleep upon the giant on this night of the year, then she will bear many healthy children, and her sight will always be true. And I think it is no shame to do so, for we are to be married in but two weeks' time, but do not tell your father, for he may think ill of such a foolish old custom. It has ever been the way here, and my mother and her mother before her do say that it is a worthy tradition such as most goodwives of the parish have done in their day, even since time out of common memory. And there is much to be learned from the wisdom of our elders, they do say.  


  
  


**Letter from Charles Oakley to his sister Frances, December 12th, 1862**

My dear Fanny,

The stories Grandmother Sarah told by the fire have long stayed with me, and perhaps I have been too curious in trying to determine the truth that lies at the root of them. The murder of Josiah Davis and his mysterious associate are attested in contemporary records, much as our grandmother recounted to us, although I do think she spared some of the worst details from our tender ears, although I know you will not believe me! You had such nightmares about her tales, even years later, that I hesitate to write to you of this, but I do not know where else to turn. 

I will include with this letter a package of documents and materials that I have collected, as I have struggled to understand the roots that lie beneath the deep layers of years and omissions. This was not an isolated event, although it was no doubt the most outlandish and extreme incident, at least whose records have come down to us. However, there are many old customs and strange beliefs in this region, even more than are commonly known by those of us who grew up there, although many have no doubt been lost over the years as elders like our grandmother have passed on. My work will be to gather them however I may, but those who know their deepest secrets may be reluctant to reveal them... 

  
  


**Coroner's inquest into the death of Charles Oakley, May 3rd, 1865**

Inquiry by Mr. Daniel Baxter, coroner, into the death of Charles Oakley, who was found dead on the hill overlooking the village of Godmanston, which is commonly called Old Man's Hill or Giant's Hill, on the morning of May 2nd of this year. There were no signs of violence upon the body, which was unclothed aside from an unusual pendant, but the deceased's eyes were smeared with a black grease-like soot.

In the opinion of this coroner, the deceased was exposed to the elements and perished due to this foolhardy excursion, as on the night of May 1st it was chill and rainy. The jury, after a short deliberation, returned a verdict of death by misadventure.

**Author's Note:**

> I am making some conjectures here, such as that a) the story takes place in Dorset, based on the chalk carving of "the old man on the hill", and b) if the children's bedtime story takes place around the 1830s, the events the grandmother is recounting probably took place some 70 years earlier, in the 1760s or so.
> 
> I hope this was to your liking!
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr at [naryrising](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/naryrising) if you want to ask questions, make requests, or chat!


End file.
